The decade's best

[Nikkormat]

I mentioned the 40s and 50s in my first post, and having spent the day pondering the subject while I should have been pondering work, here are my thoughts:

Pre WW1 - BSA underlever types
The inter-war years - I'll accept the experts' views and say the Webleys
The 1940s - BSA Airsporter all the way
The 1950s - HW35
The 1960s - I'm not sure on this one. FWB 150/300 maybe, or more HW35s
The 1970s - FWB Sport, if reputation on here is anything to go by
The 1980s - HW77
The 1990s - TX200SR?

I couldn't go with a Webley for the 1990s as my father indoctrinated me into the belief that the last decent Webley was the Mk.III and any made since then were rubbish.
The Rapid 7, fantasic I have no doubt, but will it ever be a classic?
The Pro-Sport is excellent, but was it really a significant step up from the HW77 or TX?

[I. J.]

My choices.

1940's - Airsporter Mk 1
1950's - HW35
1960's - Still the HW35
1970's - FWB Sport
1980's - HW77
1990's - A few contenders but NOT the Pro Sport.

ATB
Ian

[Mike Craig]

Hi,

This isn't strictly on topic but can you bear with me?

Since taking up air guns quite recently, the one "quality" gun I've bought is a 1980's HW77K, from this forum.

I've noticed that a number of posts have specified the HW77 as best gun of the '80's. I'd love to know where the '80's 77K fits into this?

Hope this makes sense (I want someone to tell me I have a cracking gun! No seriously, I'd like to know how its rated)

[Gareth W-B]

Hope this makes sense (I want someone to tell me I have a cracking gun! No seriously, I'd like to know how its rated)

... It does, you have, and very highly indeed.

[Powderfinger]

Pre-WW1 - Not sure. Westley-Richards Highest possible. Were they made then? I wish I had one...
Post WW1 - Webley's Johnstone-Fearne pistols kicked-off. Classic.
1930s - The Harrington Gat arrived and brought cheap, inaccurate shooting to generations of young people....
1940's - Hy-Score pistol invented. Very attractive piece but with a design fault.
1950's - Webley over-levers continue to be a serious air-pistol. Mind you, there were so many cartridge pistols knocking about that everyone who really wanted one could seem to get one...
1960's - FWB 65 arrived. Was this the first serious airpistol or could Original 6 claim that title?
1970's - BSA Scorpion - far too big, no use for hunting or target-shooting or even as a dispatch gun, over-complex and dogged by early production problems but summed up a decade with it's lavish use of plastic and space-age looks. Like a Chopper Bike or a TR7 or an episode of The Professionals.
1980's - The first high-quality CO2 guns from Walther and FWB set records that are still competitive. In the UK, they were rarely seen because of our insane laws against CO2.
1990 - PCP's from all the big-names: FWB, Walther, Steyr, Hammerli plus some newer names: Morini, Benelli. No contest.
2000's - I give this award to the Umarex S&W 586 lookalike. At last, CO2 is available to adults without FAC and the Umarex S&W brings plinking pleasure to the masses. It knackered Webley, though.....

[Mike Craig]

... It does, you have, and very highly indeed.

Thanks very much for that Gareth; It seemed excellent to me, but I haven't yet built up that many points of comparison.

[gt550a]

Sorry can't bring myself to admit German air weapons even exist
In my humble opinion the 1950's belong to the BSA Meteor....the gun that every red blooded drooling youth at the time could reasonably aspire to own and started, I suspect, many on here's airgun careers. Add to that the longest air rifle in continuous production (I think??). If we can count the horrible Spanish version
It was responsible for so many taking to aiguns as a lifelong obsession (me included ) and it did what it said on the tin....teach the owner to shoot cheaply?
ATB
Rob

[Gareth W-B]

Add to that the longest air rifle in continuous production (I think??).

I do have a soft-spot for the Meteor (MkI through to MkV), true, but no, the HW35 (which is still in production in its original country and factory of origin, no thrice removed, and completely unrelated, yet similarly badged Spanish offering), beats the Meteor's production run, even including said Spanish things, by a clear five years.

[Powderfinger]

I think the Webley Johnstone-Fearn pistols must be a contender for the longest production run: started in 1923 and you can still buy a Centennial editin Tempest today (albeit that may be a very pricey parts-bin special). Esssentially the same pistol in continuous production just with changes to features, materials and a name change every twenty years or so.